"The Queen"...

The Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus) is a stunning creature. If you can catch the sunlight on their wings, they become a spectacular deep orange. The white spots are mesmerizing as you look more closely. It's always a treat to photograph these creatures.

The Queen is a moderately large butterfly, with an average wingspan of approx. 3.2 inches. It is easily distinguishable from its relative the monarch by its darker brown ground color, and lack of stripes decorating the wings. It possesses a very tough and flexible chitinous exoskeleton, unlike most other butterflies. I'll be sharing more photos that depict this detail.

Taxonomy: The Queen is a member of the genus Danaus, which includes D. plexippus (monarch) and D. eresimus (soldier). It is of the family Nymphalidae of the order Lepidoptera. There are as many as eleven subspecies recognized.

Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas.
Photo # K05_7851_16x9c.
(c) Kelly Shipp

"Nature's Mix of Leaves"...

Trees in forest, Dancing Rabbit Trail,
Crowley's Ridge State Park, Arkansas.
Photo # IM7_3792bwb.
(c) Kelly Shipp

"Cadron Dreams"...

There's just something about the trees in this park. They each have their own place in the landscape, as if they have their own message and story to tell.

Cadron Settlement Park is a 150-acre park maintained by the City of Conway, but owned by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Cadron Settlement Park is 99 miles by water from Indian Territory, the end of the Trail of Tears Water Route.

Conway, Arkansas.
Photo # P1030403bw16x9m.
(c) Kelly Shipp

"Pastel Sunsets"...

Enjoying sunsets doesn't always have to be focused solely on the sun setting. Dusk provides such a wonderful time of mix of atmospheric colors. On this particular evening, a rainstorm was moving in from the South (left) as the sun was setting in the West (right). The mix of cloud layers provides a deep sky of pastels. Hope you enjoy.

Color hues from this photographic may vary based on your monitor display.
View from historic Cadron Settlement Park, Conway, Arkansas. Arkansas River in the foreground.
Photo # DSCF5654-56.
(c) Kelly Shipp

"Big Colors, Small World"...

There are times, I really slow down and study just a small section of nature in the woods. This photograph represents such a treat of colors in such a small space. You can see the green grasshopper near the center.  
Hope you enjoy.

Forest floor, central Arkansas.
Photo # K05_6445c.
(c) Kelly Shipp

"Tiny Wonder"

This is the Sulphur Bee fly (Poecilognathus sulphureus). This is a tiny fly that resembles a bee, but only has one set of wings. It's only about 4mm (5/32") in size. It's color and transparent wings are what attracts me to photograph it so often.

Conway, Arkansas.
Photo # K05_6517-20c.
(c) Kelly Shipp

"Canyon Pathways"...

Lower Antelope Canyon, AZ.
Photo # K04_3324bws_sq.
(c) Kelly Shipp